Unbiased headline news – The final national NBC News poll of the 2024 presidential race reveals a tight contest shaped by opposing forces that have both helped Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump in their bids for the White House.

The poll shows Harris receiving support from 49% of registered voters in a direct matchup, with Trump also at 49%. Only 2% of voters say they remain undecided. The nation’s deep polarization underscores the narrow competition, including a gender gap exceeding 30 points between male and female voting preferences.

Donald Trump, in a speech before today’s presidential election, referenced reporters being shot and suggested he “shouldn’t have left” the White House following his 2020 defeat to Democrat Joe Biden.

In comments distinct from his recent rally speeches, Trump frequently cast doubt on the election’s integrity and revisited grievances from his effort to overturn the 2020 results. He heightened his criticism of the “demonic” Democratic Party and the American media, turning his rally in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, toward the topic of violence against journalists.

Vice President Kamala Harris avoided mentioning her opponent, former President Donald Trump, as she made her final appeal to Michigan voters at a rally.

“America is ready for a fresh start, ready for a new way forward, where we see our fellow American not as an enemy, but as a neighbor. We are ready for a president who knows that the true measure of a leader is not based on who you beat down, it is based on who you lift up,” she said, pledging to “turn the page on a decade of politics driven by fear and division.”

The outcome of today’s presidential election remains uncertain, but the Federal Reserve’s decision two days later is more predictable: With inflation continuing to ease, the Fed is set to lower interest rates for a second time this year.

The presidential results may still be unclear when the Fed concludes its two-day meeting on Thursday, yet that ambiguity is unlikely to impact its decision to reduce its key rate again. However, the Fed’s upcoming moves could become less predictable once a new president and Congress take office in January, particularly if Donald Trump reclaims the White House.

A 22-year-old man has been arrested and identified as a suspect in a Halloween night shooting in a busy Vancouver, Washington mall, where one man was killed, two others were injured, and trick-or-treaters fled for safety, police report.

The suspect, Travis L. Ward, was arrested in Vancouver and surrendered without incident after police and SWAT surrounded a residence he was traced to, according to a statement from the Vancouver Police Department. Ward was booked at the Clark County Jail on charges of first-degree murder and two counts of first-degree assault, police said.

Officials in Mexico and across Latin America are closely monitoring the outcome of today’s U.S. presidential election, given GOP candidate Donald Trump’s campaign promise to “deport 11 million criminal aliens” if he is elected.

As they consider the potential impacts of a Trump administration, Mexicans are also assessing how a new U.S. president might engage with Mexico’s newly elected president Claudia Sheinbaum, who took office just a month ago. “It’s important to remember that many Mexicans have family on both sides of the border and, as a result, are very impacted by U.S.-Mexico relations,” wrote Travis Bembenek, CEO of Mexico News Daily.

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